Help with baby rabbits

AndrewJ · Mar 9, 2017

[*]My doe had a litter of 4 kits on the 4th of March and I just checked on them and they have dandruff looking stuff on them

alforddm · Mar 9, 2017

It could be a few things. Fur mites, dried milk, or just dry flaky skin. Would it be possible to get a pic?

AndrewJ · Mar 19, 2017

Yes I can but there is a rabbit beside my doe with the kits. I have treated every one but I don't know what to use to disinfect the cage.

Teddy2511 · Mar 19, 2017

I used to have this with some of my litters... I'm not certain what it was, but my guess is that it may have been coming from a dirty nestbox. Are your babies still in the nest? If they are still using the nestbox, have you ever cleaned out the entire nest and replaced it with fresh hay/bedding?

With current litters I try to clean out the nestbox at 9 days and then again at 14 days. (Depending on your litter size this may need to be done more often. I usually have no more than 4 kits in a litter.) When they are at 14 days, I either remove the nestbox completely or tip it on its side for another week.

I think for my rabbits, when the bedding in the nest was left too long and became dirty they began getting this "dandruff" or white flakes in their fur. Although, it has been a long time since I have had this issue, and I may have had some litters that got it even with a cleaner nest.

AndrewJ · Mar 19, 2017

Yes I do the same thing clean it at 9 days and as often as I see fit after that. But there is another doe that has fur mites I have treated them but I have never had this issue, but I don't know what to use to disinfect the cages.

Teddy2511 · Mar 21, 2017

I have disinfected my cages in the past by hosing them down, to remove junk/loose fur, spraying the entire cage with clorox, letting it sit out in the sun to kill off anything else, and then hosing down the cage one more time to rinse off any remaining Clorox. I let the cage air dry in the sun and then put the rabbits back.